Auckland young leaders meet Mayor Len Brown

“The law taught me to think, but I lead with my heart.” Len Brown comes across as very dedicated and passionate in his role as the Auckland Super City Mayor, says young leader Claire Choe. She was one of 12 young leaders from the Auckland network cluster who recently had the opportunity to hold a roundtable discussion with His Worship Mayor Len Brown on the topic of ‘the future of Auckland’.

The roundtable meeting was organised by steering committee member and event producer for Auckland Tourism Events and Economic Development, Daniel Harrison. He came up with the idea of introducing the Mayor to the network while hosting Mr Brown at the Lantern Festival.

“Fellow network member Shelley Huang and I spent a couple of hours with Len showing him around the festival and when we told him that we were both part of this network he was keen to know more, thus the idea of a roundtable discussion arose.”
 
Chris Chang, another young leader who attended, says the Mayor was quick to pledge his support to the network. “Mr Brown was obviously extremely proud of Auckland’s mix of ethnicities and reflected on his own experiences of growing up amongst Polynesian communities in South Auckland.” Chris also observed that the Mayor advocated the development of a functional public transport system as the key to making Auckland the world’s most liveable city. Much discussion was held on this topic at the roundtable.

For Claire, additional points of interest at the meeting included the Mayor’s focus on the development of export-oriented business in industries such as tourism, finance and education, as well as his commitment to sustainability.

Overall, that the event went very well and Daniel, like the others present, left feeling confident and inspired. “Len was impressed with the calibre of young leaders and the diversity of the network. Personally I was proud of the way those that attended represented the network”, he said.

Claire came away from the evening with a newly found faith in Auckland as a city capable to further develop and deliver. She says, “It is clear that Len is fully committed to making the city an easier place to live in, and I admired his approachability and dedication towards establishing continuing dialogue with members of the wider Auckland community. He maintained that as young leaders, we have a part to play in making our voices heard and fuelling discussion, especially through social media.” The Auckland young leaders were very grateful for the Mayor’s time and look forward to seeing him at future events.

The event took place at the Town Hall on 16 May and was attended by Asia:NZ young leaders Sarah Lawrence, Chris Chang, Daniel Harrison, Bevan Chuang, Chris Wong, Wilson Chau, Wook Jin Lee, Sudhvir Sing, Claire Choe, Alice Wang, Alexandra Lee and Linda Lew.

Those interested in the Mayor’s vision for Auckland can learn more on this website.